Time to take action on health care

Before I raise my blood pressure over the health care debate I want to point out an exceptional post by Michael Prescott. After reading his post on the book You Can Be Happy No Matter What I ordered the book from Amazon. It cost me one penny + $3.99 S&H. Read Michael's review of it and the comments. He has some of the most faithful readers that make for some great discussions in the comments. You may be interested as well.

Russ at anything adirondack posted his take on Obama's mentioning that the public option might be off the table. I hope he's right. A public option similar to Medicare is at least acceptable to me, but I feel like we're getting the cheapest hunk of junk on the lot instead of the deluxe model which would be a singe payer system.

Look, I sell cars for a living and there is a technique used throughout the car sales industry called, "go out there and take the car away from them", and it works.

You have a customer who is not sure if she/he has made their best deal asking for more and and unsure of exactly what to do, buy or walk. They just spent maybe an hour and a half selecting, driving, having the trade appraised,negotiating over the trade and trying to lower price of the new car, and are growing tired of the process. So they make one last ridiculous offer to test the waters and get the sales manager to, "fish or cut bait".

The salesperson goes to the sales manager and presents some ridiculous offer that gets laughed at and is told to go back to his desk and say...

"Maybe we should move to a less expensive car to lower the purchase price."

The customer only has two choices. Weigh going back out onto the lot and selecting and driving another car or staying focused on the original car.

So they leave the air conditioned showroom and walk out onto the lot and pick out their second choice and drive it, listen to the sales pitch all over again, and all the time thinking about the more expensive model that meets their needs and has now how increased in value compared to the cheaper model.

Original choice of car wins 80% of the time.

Works more often than not.

What Barack is doing is the same thing. We as voters picked the one with power windows and door locks, cruise control, Navigation System, all wheel drive,leather heated seats and the most powerful motor.

So we as voter have invested much time and effort in acquiring this ________________? [pick a car company ] car and and now he as the best evah salesman he is is taking it away and wants us to go back out onto the lot and select and think about an alternative model.

Frankly I'm sticking with my first choice. Somehow he'll find the money [votes] to pay for it.

Fellow curmudgeon, Russ, at private buffoon is into tilting at windmills. There is something about Bruce and I that we can't pass up a chance to be Don Quiote. I'm going to join him in the jousting. He's written a letter to the president and wants others to copy it and mail it in. I know snail mail may be old fashioned, but just maybe if he got buried in letters instead of e-mail which is so easily deleted more attention would be paid. I'm mailing one in. I think its worth the cost of a postage stamp. Sending one to Jeff Bingamon might help too.

It's time to remind Obama you ride the horse that brung 'ya.

Dear President Obama:

In 2008, disillusioned by eight years of W's misrule, we fell under your spell. You gave us hope, and we responded with enthusiasm and energy. You promised "Change We Can Believe In" and "Change We Need". We believed you.

While your quest for bipartisan solutions is noble, it is not realistic in the current political climate. Your Republican opponents - the so-called "loyal opposition" - in the House and Senate have no interest in supporting any legislation you propose. Their votes on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the Stimulus Bill) proved that; even though you'd made an effort to water down the bill to bring Republicans into the fold.

Don't now abandon the centerpiece of health reform legislation - the "public option" - in a futile search for a bipartisan solution. Again - such a quest is futile. Like the unicorn and the Holy Grail, bipartisan solutions are mythical in today's political environment.

Instead, it's time for you to do your very best LBJ impersonation: take recalcitrant Democratic Senators aside and twist their arms. Face it, if LBJ had attempted to appease his Congressional opponents regarding the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965, you would likely NOT be President today!

Another historical analogy comes to mind: Neville Chamberlain declaring "peace in our time" following the Munich Conference with Hitler. As Paul Krugman recently noted, your opponents cannot be appeased! They will never vote for meaningful reform of healthcare coverage, no matter what concessions you offer. Don't come before the cameras waving a neutered healthcare reform bill and declaring, "Bipartisanship in our time!"

Now is the time to stand firm and twist Democratic arms to achieve meaningful, historical reform of our national healthcare so-called 'system'. It is NOT the time to cave to Republican demands in the pursuit of a mythical beast.

If you do not stand firm and twist a few arms, you may discover that we who enthusiastically supported your candidacy in 2008 are no longer with you in 2012.

Sincerely,